Isaiah 7:13
Then Isaiah said, "Hear now, O house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God as well?
Then Isaiah said
This phrase introduces the prophet Isaiah, a central figure in the Old Testament, known for his role as a messenger of God. The Hebrew root for "said" is "אָמַר" (amar), which conveys the act of speaking or declaring. Isaiah's role as a prophet is to communicate God's messages to the people, often calling them to repentance and faithfulness. His words are not his own but are divinely inspired, emphasizing the authority and seriousness of the message that follows.

Hear now
The Hebrew word for "hear" is "שָׁמַע" (shama), which means to listen or obey. This is not merely a call to auditory attention but an exhortation to heed and act upon the message. The urgency in "now" underscores the immediacy and importance of the message. Isaiah is calling the people to pay close attention to what God is about to reveal, highlighting the critical nature of the situation.

O house of David
The "house of David" refers to the royal lineage of King David, a significant figure in Israel's history. This phrase is a reminder of the covenant God made with David, promising that his descendants would rule Israel. The historical context here is crucial, as the house of David is facing a crisis, and Isaiah's message is directed at the leadership and the people associated with this royal line. It serves as a reminder of their heritage and responsibilities under God's covenant.

Is it not enough to try the patience of men?
The phrase "try the patience" comes from the Hebrew "לְהַלְאוֹת" (lehalot), meaning to weary or exhaust. Isaiah is addressing the people's actions that have already tested human patience, likely referring to their lack of faith and disobedience. This rhetorical question highlights the extent of their actions, suggesting that they have already pushed the limits of what is tolerable among their fellow humans.

Will you try the patience of my God as well?
Here, Isaiah shifts from human patience to divine patience. The use of "my God" personalizes the relationship between Isaiah and the Lord, emphasizing the prophet's role as God's representative. The rhetorical question serves as a warning; if trying human patience is serious, how much more severe is it to test God's patience? This phrase underscores the gravity of their actions and the potential consequences of continuing in their unfaithfulness.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Isaiah
A major prophet in the Old Testament, Isaiah is delivering God's message to the people of Judah and their king. His role is to call the people back to faithfulness and to warn them of the consequences of their actions.

2. House of David
Refers to the royal lineage of King David, which includes King Ahaz, the current king of Judah at the time. This lineage is significant in biblical prophecy, particularly concerning the coming of the Messiah.

3. King Ahaz
The king of Judah during Isaiah's prophecy. Ahaz is known for his lack of faith and reliance on political alliances rather than trusting in God.

4. Judah
The southern kingdom of Israel, which is under threat from surrounding nations. The political and spiritual state of Judah is a central concern in Isaiah's prophecies.

5. God
The central figure in the prophecy, whose patience is being tested by the lack of faith and disobedience of His people, particularly their leaders.
Teaching Points
Faith Over Fear
Isaiah's message to the house of David highlights the importance of trusting in God rather than succumbing to fear and seeking human solutions. Believers today are encouraged to place their trust in God's promises rather than worldly assurances.

God's Patience
The passage underscores God's patience with His people, but also warns against testing that patience through disobedience and lack of faith. Christians are reminded to live in a way that honors God's patience and grace.

Messianic Hope
The reference to the house of David points to the future hope of the Messiah. This encourages believers to look forward to the fulfillment of God's promises in Christ, who is the ultimate expression of God's faithfulness.

Leadership Accountability
King Ahaz's failure to trust God serves as a warning to leaders about the importance of faithfulness and reliance on God. Christian leaders are called to lead with integrity and trust in God's guidance.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Isaiah's message to the house of David challenge us to examine our own faith and reliance on God in difficult situations?

2. In what ways does the prophecy concerning the house of David in Isaiah 7:13 connect to the New Testament understanding of Jesus as the Messiah?

3. How can we apply the lesson of God's patience in our daily lives, especially when we face trials and uncertainties?

4. What can we learn from King Ahaz's example about the dangers of seeking human solutions over divine guidance?

5. How does understanding the historical and prophetic context of Isaiah 7:13 enhance our appreciation of God's faithfulness throughout the Bible?
Connections to Other Scriptures
2 Kings 16
Provides historical context for King Ahaz's reign and his political decisions, which often contradicted God's commands.

Isaiah 9:6-7
Offers a prophecy about the coming Messiah, who will come from the house of David, providing hope and a future for God's people.

Matthew 1:23
Connects the prophecy of a virgin birth in Isaiah 7:14 to the birth of Jesus, emphasizing the fulfillment of God's promises through the lineage of David.

Psalm 89:3-4
Reaffirms God's covenant with David, promising that his lineage will endure forever, which is central to understanding the significance of the "house of David."
Wearying GodHomiletic ReviewIsaiah 7:13
Wearying GodH. Melvill, B. D.Isaiah 7:13
Wearying GodF. Delitzsch.Isaiah 7:13
Wearying GodR. Macculloch.Isaiah 7:13
Sin and Duty in Regard to SignsW. Clarkson Isaiah 7:10-13
Faith Triumphing Over DoubtE. Johnson Isaiah 7:10-17
People
Ahaz, Aram, David, Immanuel, Isaiah, Jashub, Jotham, Pekah, Remaliah, Rezin, Shearjashub, Tabeal, Tabeel, Uzziah
Places
Assyria, Damascus, Egypt, Euphrates River, Jerusalem, Samaria, Syria, Washer's Field
Topics
David, Disgust, Driving, Ear, Family, Listen, Matter, O, Patience, Slight, Try, Weary
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Isaiah 7:13

     1095   God, patience of

Isaiah 7:10-14

     5473   proof, through testing

Isaiah 7:13-14

     1135   God, suffering of
     7773   prophets, role

Isaiah 7:13-17

     1431   prophecy, OT methods

Library
Immanuel
Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name IMMANUEL , God with us. T here is a signature of wisdom and power impressed upon the works of God, which evidently distinguishes them from the feeble imitations of men. Not only the splendour of the sun, but the glimmering light of the glow-worm proclaims His glory. The structure and growth of a blade of grass, are the effects of the same power which produced the fabric of the heavens and the earth. In His Word likewise He is
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

Honour and Glory unto Him.
IN Revelation V, that great worship scene, beginning some day in heaven and going on into future ages, we read of the Lamb to whom honor and glory are due. He alone is worthy. And every heart who knows Him rejoicing in His love, cries out, "Thou art worthy!" Yea, the sweetest song for the redeemed soul is the outburst of praise, which we find on the threshold of His own Revelation. "Unto Him that loveth us and washed us from our sins in His own blood and hath made us kings and priests unto God and
Arno Gaebelein—The Lord of Glory

Estimate of St. Augustin.
Augustin, the man with upturned eye, with pen in the left hand, and a burning heart in the right (as he is usually represented), is a philosophical and theological genius of the first order, towering like a pyramid above his age, and looking down commandingly upon succeeding centuries. He had a mind uncommonly fertile and deep, bold and soaring; and with it, what is better, a heart full of Christian love and humility. He stands of right by the side of the greatest philosophers of antiquity and of
St. Augustine—The Confessions and Letters of St

On Turning the First Page of the Review which Follows...
On turning the first page of the review which follows, follows, "by Rowland Williams, D.D. Vice-Principal and Professor of Hebrew, St. David's College, Lampeter; Vicar of Broad Chalke, Wilts,"--we are made sensible that we are in company of a writer considerably in advance of Dr. Temple, though altogether of the same school. In fact, if Dr. Williams had not been Vice-Principal of a Theological College, and a Doctor of Divinity, one would have supposed him to be a complete infidel,--who found it convenient
John William Burgon—Inspiration and Interpretation

Gihon, the Same with the Fountain of Siloam.
I. In 1 Kings 1:33,38, that which is, in the Hebrew, "Bring ye Solomon to Gihon: and they brought him to Gihon"; is rendered by the Chaldee, "Bring ye him to Siloam: and they brought him to Siloam." Where Kimchi thus; "Gihon is Siloam, and it is called by a double name. And David commanded, that they should anoint Solomon at Gihon for a good omen, to wit, that, as the waters of the fountain are everlasting, so might his kingdom be." So also the Jerusalem writers; "They do not anoint the king, but
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

Letter vi (Circa A. D. 1127) to the Same
To the Same He protests against the reputation for holiness which is attributed to him, and promises to communicate the treatises which he has written. I. Even if I should give myself to you entirely that would be too little a thing still in my eyes, to have recompensed towards you even the half of the kindly feeling which you express towards my humility. I congratulate myself, indeed, on the honour which you have done me; but my joy, I confess, is tempered by the thought that it is not anything
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

The Debt of Irenæus to Justin Martyr
If we are to proceed with safety in forming a judgment as to the relation between Justin and Irenæus in respect of the matter which they have in common, it will be necessary not merely to consider a number of selected parallels, but also to examine the treatment of a particular theme in the two writers. Let us set side by side, for example, c. 32 of Justin's First Apology with c. 57 of the Demonstration. Justin has been explaining to his Roman readers who the Jewish prophets were, and then
Irenæus—The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching

Bunsen's Biblical Researches.
When geologists began to ask whether changes in the earth's structure might be explained by causes still in operation, they did not disprove the possibility of great convulsions, but they lessened necessity for imagining them. So, if a theologian has his eyes opened to the Divine energy as continuous and omnipresent, he lessens the sharp contrast of epochs in Revelation, but need not assume that the stream has never varied in its flow. Devotion raises time present into the sacredness of the past;
Frederick Temple—Essays and Reviews: The Education of the World

Jewish views on Trade, Tradesmen, and Trades' Guilds
We read in the Mishnah (Kidd. iv. 14) as follows: "Rabbi Meir said: Let a man always teach his son a cleanly and a light trade; and let him pray to Him whose are wealth and riches; for there is no trade which has not both poverty and riches, and neither does poverty come from the trade nor yet riches, but everything according to one's deserving (merit). Rabbi Simeon, the son of Eleazer, said: Hast thou all thy life long seen a beast or a bird which has a trade? Still they are nourished, and that
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Redemption for Man Lost to be Sought in Christ.
1. The knowledge of God the Creator of no avail without faith in Christ the Redeemer. First reason. Second reason strengthened by the testimony of an Apostle. Conclusion. This doctrine entertained by the children of God in all ages from the beginning of the world. Error of throwing open heaven to the heathen, who know nothing of Christ. The pretexts for this refuted by passages of Scripture. 2. God never was propitious to the ancient Israelites without Christ the Mediator. First reason founded on
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

The Scriptures
Q-II: WHAT RULE HAS GOD GIVEN TO DIRECT US HOW WE MAY GLORIFY AND ENJOY HIM? A: The Word of God, which is contained in the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him. 2 Tim 3:16. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,' By Scripture is understood the sacred Book of God. It is given by divine inspiration; that is, the Scripture is not the contrivance of man's brain, but is divine in its origin. The image of Diana was had in veneration
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

The Mercy of God
The next attribute is God's goodness or mercy. Mercy is the result and effect of God's goodness. Psa 33:5. So then this is the next attribute, God's goodness or mercy. The most learned of the heathens thought they gave their god Jupiter two golden characters when they styled him good and great. Both these meet in God, goodness and greatness, majesty and mercy. God is essentially good in himself and relatively good to us. They are both put together in Psa 119:98. Thou art good, and doest good.' This
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

The Plan for the Coming of Jesus.
God's Darling, Psalms 8:5-8.--the plan for the new man--the Hebrew picture by itself--difference between God's plan and actual events--one purpose through breaking plans--the original plan--a starting point--getting inside. Fastening a Tether inside: the longest way around--the pedigree--the start. First Touches on the Canvas: the first touch, Genesis 3:15.--three groups of prediction--first group: to Abraham, Genesis 12:1-3; to Isaac, Genesis 26:1-5; to Jacob, Genesis 28:10-15; through Jacob,
S. D. Gordon—Quiet Talks about Jesus

Questions.
LESSON I. 1. In what state was the Earth when first created? 2. To what trial was man subjected? 3. What punishment did the Fall bring on man? 4. How alone could his guilt be atoned for? A. By his punishment being borne by one who was innocent. 5. What was the first promise that there should be such an atonement?--Gen. iii. 15. 6. What were the sacrifices to foreshow? 7. Why was Abel's offering the more acceptable? 8. From which son of Adam was the Seed of the woman to spring? 9. How did Seth's
Charlotte Mary Yonge—The Chosen People

Commencement of the Legends Concerning Jesus --His Own Idea of his Supernatural Character.
Jesus returned to Galilee, having completely lost his Jewish faith, and filled with revolutionary ardor. His ideas are now expressed with perfect clearness. The innocent aphorisms of the first part of his prophetic career, in part borrowed from the Jewish rabbis anterior to him, and the beautiful moral precepts of his second period, are exchanged for a decided policy. The Law would be abolished; and it was to be abolished by him.[1] The Messiah had come, and he was the Messiah. The kingdom of God
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus

Of Faith. The Definition of It. Its Peculiar Properties.
1. A brief recapitulation of the leading points of the whole discussion. The scope of this chapter. The necessity of the doctrine of faith. This doctrine obscured by the Schoolmen, who make God the object of faith, without referring to Christ. The Schoolmen refuted by various passages. 2. The dogma of implicit faith refuted. It destroys faith, which consists in a knowledge of the divine will. What this will is, and how necessary the knowledge of it. 3. Many things are and will continue to be implicitly
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

Jesus Makes his First Disciples.
(Bethany Beyond Jordan, Spring a.d. 27.) ^D John I. 35-51. ^d 35 Again on the morrow [John's direct testimony bore fruit on the second day] John was standing, and two of his disciples [An audience of two. A small field; but a large harvest]; 36 and he looked [Gazed intently. The word is used at Mark xiv. 67; Luke xxii. 61 Mark x. 21, 27. John looked searchingly at that face, which, so far as any record shows, he was never to see on earth again. The more intently we look upon Jesus, the more powerfully
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Upbringing of Jewish Children
The tenderness of the bond which united Jewish parents to their children appears even in the multiplicity and pictorialness of the expressions by which the various stages of child-life are designated in the Hebrew. Besides such general words as "ben" and "bath"--"son" and "daughter"--we find no fewer than nine different terms, each depicting a fresh stage of life. The first of these simply designates the babe as the newly--"born"--the "jeled," or, in the feminine, "jaldah"--as in Exodus 2:3, 6, 8.
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Isaiah
CHAPTERS I-XXXIX Isaiah is the most regal of the prophets. His words and thoughts are those of a man whose eyes had seen the King, vi. 5. The times in which he lived were big with political problems, which he met as a statesman who saw the large meaning of events, and as a prophet who read a divine purpose in history. Unlike his younger contemporary Micah, he was, in all probability, an aristocrat; and during his long ministry (740-701 B.C., possibly, but not probably later) he bore testimony, as
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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